Staff Software Engineer (Backend / AI Platforms)

Xcede; Berlin; On-site; EUR 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A growing payments technology firm in Berlin is seeking a Staff Engineer to design scalable backend services using TypeScript or Python. The ideal candidate will have 8–12 years of software engineering experience, particularly in building distributed systems within fintech or regulated environments. Responsibilities include driving technical strategy, mentoring engineers, and collaborating with teams to improve system performance. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work on AI-powered solutions and cloud-native infrastructure.

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of software engineering experience with a focus on backend or fullstack development.
• Proven experience building high-scale distributed systems in fintech or regulated environments.
• Strong expertise in cloud-native architectures (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

Responsibilities

• Design and build scalable backend services using TypeScript or Python.
• Architect distributed systems handling high-volume payment workflows.
• Contribute to AI-powered features like fraud detection and automation.

Skills

Software engineering experience

Backend or fullstack development

Cloud-native architectures

Microservices

Event-driven systems

AI/ML systems

Tools

TypeScript

Python

Kafka

Job description

Xcede have partnered exclusively with a rapidly scaling European payments and financial technology company, processing millions of transactions annually across B2B and B2C platforms. The business has grown to over €180M in annual revenue and continues to expand across multiple international markets.

Their platform powers payment processing, transaction intelligence, and financial data services, with a strong focus on security, scalability, and real-time data processing. As part of their next phase of growth, they are investing heavily in cloud-native infrastructure and AI-driven automation to enhance their product offering.

Your role as a Staff Engineer:

• Design and build scalable backend services using TypeScript (Node.js) or Python.
• Architect distributed systems handling high-volume payment and transaction workflows.
• Contribute to the development of AI-powered features (e.g. fraud detection, intelligent routing, automation).
• Drive technical strategy and architecture decisions across teams.
• Build and maintain event-driven systems (Kafka or similar) for real-time processing.
• Improve system performance, resilience, and scalability across critical financial infrastructure.
• Mentor engineers and elevate engineering standards across the organisation.
• Collaborate with product, data, and compliance teams in a regulated environment.

What we're looking for:

• 8–12+ years of software engineering experience, with a strong focus on backend or fullstack development.
• Proven experience building high-scale, distributed systems, ideally within fintech, payments, or other regulated environments.
• Strong expertise in cloud-native architectures (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Experience designing and working with microservices and event-driven systems (e.g. Kafka, messaging platforms).
• Exposure to or experience with AI/ML systems, LLM integrations, or data-driven platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, influence architecture, and mentor other engineers.
• Strong understanding of system design, performance optimisation, and scalability.